Category: instrumental

Score and video for “The Geography of Dreams”

6 programmatic pieces for symphony orchestra

The Geography of Dreams consists of six programmatic character pieces scored for symphony orchestra. The dreams portrayed have stuck in my memory and occured over a number of years and all take place in a world that reoccurs very often in my dreams, ever since I was a kid. This dream world has a complete geography that is quite consistent and which I’ve explored over the decades. It’s a peculiar feeling to know that this other world exists. It seems to exist outside of this time stream…but it is very real.

This video is all six movements combined. It’s not a “real” video…just images to have on the screen. But, YouTube has been my most productive social media in terms of prompting people to buy my scores. No other platform even comes close. Digital album available at https://hiltonjones.bandcamp.com/album/the-geography-of-dreams-2.

The score is available at https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/2169549/Product.aspx and
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/the-geography-of-dreams-score-only-23935874.html. BUT, I’m happy to email a free copy of a PDF of it to any of my online social media Friends who’d want it. (Not making that offer on the sites open to the public. Who knows, some unknown someone would want to actually what to buy an orchestral score. With 8.3 billion people on the planet, accidents do happen.)

Fantasy for Harp and Chamber Orchestra

Way, way back pre-1999…I don’t even remember the exact date, probably early 90s, maybe late 80s, I wrote a piece call Caprice for Piano and Chamber Orchestra. It was performed at USF, Teresa Rose, pianist. In discussing the composition’s future with my friend and USF faculty colleague, Robert Helps, he wisely said that short concerti for piano are seldom performed for a variety of reasons.

So, the piece lay dormant in the proverbial drawer and I didn’t pursue it. But sometime around 2016 I decided to resurrect it as a piece for harp and chamber orchestra. That resulted in this computer generated performance.

Now in my 80s, I’m tidying up the musical efforts of my life. Hence posting that here.

Most of the YouTube stuff I’ve done recently has been my short piano pieces and arrangements. They’ve sold a bit on the Hal Leonard self-publishing sites. For at least a decade I’ve not written for anything that wasn’t “useful,” short pieces playable by mere mortals and choral music for the choir at Lakewood UCC where I’m the music director.

Listening to this old computer generated orchestral piece has encouraged me to start writing “useless” music again—music that’s unlikely to ever be performed. I will probably start with orchestrating some of my piano pieces. Orchestration is fun.

Fire of Justice, Fire of Love (choir, organ, & trumpet)

If you’re a church choir director, this is a good number for Pentecost. It can be done a number of ways: the basic configuration is the congregation and choir (in unison) singing the short refrain (a bulletin insert graphic comes with the choir parts) and the choir, or a section of the choir, or a soloist singing the refrains. The trumpet descant may be played on any soprano solo melody instrument, or if necessary by the organist (organists know what to do in order to do this).

I’m pleased to finally be able to have a demo of this version with full orchestration using the Cantai synth voices. There’s also a good video demo of the Lakewood UCC choir doing it as just a simple hymn. I like it that way ever bit as much as this fancy “downtown” version with organ and trumpet.

I write lots of secular music and arrangements, too. But, I’m honored even as an octogenarian to be able to have a church music director/keyboardist position. Bach, Mozart, Palestrina, Handel all had jobs as church musicians. It’s heartening to realize that even they had to get up early on Sunday mornings!

Sheet Music available from
https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/1226200/Product.aspx
and
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/fire-of-justice-fire-of-love-digital-sheet-music/22380866.

#music #organ #trumpet #choir #church #sacred

4 Sets of Trumpet Descants on Familiar Christmas Carols

Sheet music should be online at sheetmusicdirect and sheetmsicplus by 10/6/25. These four sets can be played, a different descant for every verse, or the performer is welcome to pick and chose which to do and for which verses. This recordings shows them all in an order that works if all are done in a set.

The Geography of Dreams (complete in 6 movements)

Composed: 2014-2015
These are all real dreams that have stuck with me over the years and that take place in a world that reoccurs very often in my dreams, ever since I was a kid. This dream world has a complete geography that is quite consistent and which I’ve explored over the decades. It’s a peculiar feeling to know that this other world exists. It seems to exist outside of this time stream…but it is very real.
Score available at hiltonkeanjones.com/music.

This is first time I’ve assembled them all in one video. I’d done some, but not all of the movements in spearate movements. It was kind of fun watching this complete video on the living room TV via the Roku YouTube app. Here’s the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/lQubEagvM3s. There’s a bit of compression applied by YouTube itself, but it’s not nearly as bad as Apple Music or some of the other streaming services apply. To my ear, the streaming service which has the least offensive compression is Amazon Music.

Compression is electronic treatment of the sound that basically makes louder spots in the music a bit softer and softer spots a bit louder so you can listen to the music over the roar of the traffic when you’re driving. I’m being a bit facetious…that’s not the real reason. The real reason is that the sound coming through speakers doesn’t deal with the complete dynamic range as well as live music in a room and the human ear. The difference between acoustic music in the flesh and recorded sound is so vast that when you a hear a piece like Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, live for the first time after having heard it only in recordings you blown away by all the things happening in the music you were completely unaware of.

Resignation (original arrangement)

Yesterday was Maundy Thursday and at the evening’s tenebrae service, I played this tune. I never posted a video of the original orchestrated version, but I did post a video of the piano solo I made of the same tune (see https://hiltonkeanjones.com/2023/05/19/resignation-2/). I really like this orchestrated version. I actually like all my orchestrated folk tune arrangements but there’s no sheet music market for that. Ah well…hope you enjoy “watching paint dry” while you listen. The second verse is my own compositional contribution (a restatement of the tune but in the the relative minor for you theory buffs).

Curoo, Curoo (The Carol of the Birds) for trumpet & organ

I wrote this arrangement of a traditional Irish Christmas carol, Curoo, Curoo (The Carol of the Birds) for solo melody instrument and keyboard (in this demo, trumpet and organ). Sheet music available at https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/1656611/Product.aspx.


#Christmasmusic
#organ
#trumpet

Symphonic Waltz

I’m really not sure why I wrote this. Anyway…I did, for some reason. Jack Heller, now deceased, was Chair of the School of Music of the University of South Florida. He was an amazing musician, an outstanding violinist, a very good boss, and on the side, conductor of the Tampa Bay Symphony. Jack agreed to give me a readiing/recording with the orchestra. I was very appreciative of the opportunity and dedicated the piece to the Tampa Bay Symphony.

Well…someone on the orchestral board was highly offended. Thought the pieces was too modern and, if I remember correctionly, that its quality did not rise to the standard of The Tampa Bay Symphony. The board demanded in a legal letter I remove the dedication from all copies of the score and parts.

Jack and I were both shocked but also truly amused. What an “honor” to have one’s dedication of an orchestral work refused (in high dungeon style).

Ah well! Needless to say, they never performed the work. But, thank you Jack, for the opportunity.

Rummaging through boxes…

I’m getting all my trumpet descants in one spot, and ran across this. Aa a working composer/arranger I keep unearthing stuff I’d long forgotten I’d done. I’m also trying to find the 8 or 9 descants I’d written for Don Owen for one Christmas Eve service. They gotta be here someone…LOL
#music
#trumpet
#christmas

Puer Nobis Nascitur

My setting of a traditional medieval melody arranged for cello and piano, score and part available on sheetmusicdirect and sheetmusicpus, although originally a Christmas text the same tune is used in some hymnals with an Easter text. I also have the same setting arranged for trumpet and pipe organ which you can hear at I made a trumpet and organ of the same arrangement. You can hear it at https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/puer-nobis-organ-trumpet.